Message from Retiring ILCAA Staff : NISHII, Ryoko

Since assuming a position as an assistant professor in April 1994, I have worked at the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA) for 31 years, until March 2025. I spent the first 10 years at the Nishigahara Campus of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and the subsequent 20 years at the “new campus” in Fuchu. Since I still perceive the Fuchu Campus as “new,” I am astonished to realize that I have spent twice as much time here as at the Nishigahara Campus. This realization makes me keenly aware of how time seems to pass at an accelerating pace as one gets older.

Initially, my research focused on the differences and commonalities in how individuals of different religions navigate their daily lives while mutually influencing one another, in the context of the coexistence of Muslims and Buddhists in the field. Over time, my focus gradually shifted toward the practice of fieldwork itself, raising fundamental theoretical questions: What is the significance of an anthropologist’s “physical presence there?” How is this presence related to the ethnographies that emerge as research findings?

Various joint research projects at ILCAA have significantly shaped this shift in my research interests. I should say I have benefited from the research environment of ILCAA emphasizing on fieldwork and joint research, which has allowed me to develop a cyclical research approach—conducting fieldwork, which is the essential practice of cultural anthropology (exactly my field of specialization), developing findings through joint research, publishing them in academic collections, and initiating new research based on these outcomes. In terms of educational activities, I mainly taught doctoral courses in the form of small-class seminars. They were also a great delight for me to explore new academic directions while revisiting the fundamental knowledge in a relaxed atmosphere with students. (The photo may serve as a commemoration of the seminars I enjoyed)

The title of the last joint research project I coordinated was “Reconsideration on Death: Anthropological Explorations on the Actuality of Life.” Through this project, I came to understand that life and death are not opposites. To live is to exist as a body eventually destined to die, yet this fact makes the world we inhabit radiant and precious. We often assume that death still remains far away off even though our lives are moving toward death. However, considering how time seems to pass at an accelerating pace as one gets older, as I mentioned earlier, the time may approach more rapidly than we think. So, after my retirement, I would like to enjoy living in the moment, seeking out various experiences as much as possible.
I hope you enjoy the present moment in good health. Though I will be outside ILCAA, I will continue to support you from afar.